Bullet puller

ABSTRACT

An inertial bullet puller includes a rigid tough transparent plastics material carrier tube having an opening at its upper end adapted to receive a cartridge and head means at its lower end adapted to be struck against a hard surface. The carrier is affixed transversely at the end of a handle similarly to the construction of a hammer. At the upper end of the tube is disposed annular segmented support means. A garter spring provides resilient means urging the support means segments radially inwardly into the cannelure of a cartridge. When the cartridge is inserted through the support means into the opening at the upper end of the tube, the support means expands to pass the larger diameter portions of the cartridge and then contracts into the cannelure. A screwcap at the upper end of the carrier tube having a tapered inner end provides cam means for positively moving the support segments radially inwardly and holding them in position. In use the lower end of the tube is repeatedly struck against a hard surface until the bullet is observed to pull free of the cartridge case. The lower end of the tube is closed forming a pocket to receive the bullet and case contents when the bullet is freed from the case. Tapered surfaces on the interior of the support segments provide means for moving the segments radially outwardly when the cap is backed off and the cartridge components are shaken out of the upper end of the carrier tube.

[ 1 Mar.7,W72

[54] BULLET MULLER [72] inventor: Clifiord 1L. Ashlbrook, 5410 North Bralswood, Houston, Tex. 77035 22 Filed: ll/llnr.2,1l970 211 Appl.No.: 115,777

Primary ExaminerAndrew R. J uhasz Assistant Examiner-Leon Gilden Atzomey-Robert W. B. Dickerson, Bill B. Berryhill and John C. Stahl [5 7] ABSTRACT An inertial bullet puller includes a rigid tough transparent plastics material carrier tube having an opening at its upper end adapted to receive a cartridge and head means at its lower end adapted to be struck against a hard surface. The carrier is affixed transversely at the end of a handle similarly to the construction of a hammer. At the upper end of the tube is disposed annular segmented support means. A garter spring provides resilient means urging the support means segments radially inwardly into the cannelure of a cartridge. When the cartridge is inserted through the support means into the opening at the upper end of the tube, the support means expands to pass the larger diameter portions of the cartridge and then contracts into the cannelure. A screwcap at the upper end of the carrier tube having a tapered inner end provides cam means for positively moving the support segments radially inwardly and holding them in position. In use the lower end of the tube is repeatedly struck against a hard surface until the bullet is observed to pull free of the cartridge case. The lower end of the tube is closed forming a pocket to receive the bullet and case contents when the bullet is freed from the case. Tapered surfaces on the interior of the support segments provide means for moving the segments radially outwardly when the cap is backed off and the cartridge components are shaken out of the upper end of the carrier tube.

12; Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMAR 7 1972 SHEET 1 OF 2 QM \w Mm R ww mN mm C/I I /QIQ Z. AJA/00/4 INVEN /UR.

Aria/Mk5) BULLET Portals BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention pertains to inertial bullet pullers, i.e., devices for removing the bullet from the case of a round of cartridgetype ammunition by first imparting rapid motion to the cartridge and then bringing the case thereof to a quick stop. When the case slows down it tries to slow down the bullet too, thereby imposing tension on the connection between the bullet and case. If the tension force is great enough the connection parts, which is the desired result. The tension force is proportional to the time rate of change of momentum of the bullet and for any given mass of bullet is proportional to the time rate of change of velocity of the bullet. The latter depends on the initial velocity of the bullet and upon the length of time required to stop it, which in turn depends on the speed of propagation of the elastic shock wave through the material carrying the cartridge case.

2, Discussion of the Prior Art According to the prior art an inertial bullet puller includes a rigid cartridge carrier in the form of a transparent, plastics material tube having an opening at one end adapted to receive a cartridge and provided at its other end with head means adapted to be struck against a hard surface. Support means is provided at the one end of the carrier tube for engaging the cannelure or other portion of the cartridge case. The head end of the carrier tube extends beyond the nose of the bullet and is closed, the interior of the case being tapered at the lower end.

In use, a cartridge is placed in the carrier tube and supported therein by the support means engaging the cannelure. Cap means is provided for holding the support means to the end of the carrier. The head means at the end of the carrier tube is repeatedly struck against a hard surface such as the top of a table until the bullet pulls free of the case. To facilitate accelerating the carrier to a high velocity and striking it against a fixed hard surface the carrier is provided with a handle extending transversely from the carrier tube. The resulting carrier and handle combination has the overall shape of a hammer.

The prior art bullet puller employs support means in the form of an opensided washer extending from the top of the cartridge carrier beneath the upper side of the cannelure when the puller is in use. A snug-fitting polyethylene cap is slipped over the upper end of the carrier and frictionally engages the carrier tube and holds the washer and cartridge in place. This support means is the source ofsome difficulty in that a plurality of support washers having differing inner diameters must be employed in order to accommodate cartridges having different diameter cannelures. Also, after each use it is necessary to pull the tight-fitting cap offthe end of the carrier.

Another form of support means employed by the prior art bullet puller consists of a U-shaped plate having a variable width between the tines thereof to adapt it to cannelures of different diameters, but such a support means has so little area of engagement with the cannelure that it shears if the carrier is struck too hard.

The present invention is directed to overcoming the aforementioned difficulties had with the known inertial bullet pullers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention annular segmented support means is provided at the upper end of the carrier of the bullet puller extendable into and retractable from the cannelure ofa cartridge placed therein, whereby the support means is adapted to fit a wide range of cartridges having cannelures of different diameters, and it is unnecessary to remove the retaining cap to withdraw a cartridge or its components. The support means of the invention includes a plurality of arcuate shape members or segments adapted to be annularly disposed at the upper end ofa carrier. Such a group of members may be called annular segmented means. A garter spring extends around the segments providing resilient means for urging the segments radially inwardly to an extent limited either by engagement with a cartridge or by the otherwise spaced apart sides of the segments coming into engagement Cam means is provided for positively urging the segments radially inwardly and holding them positioned beneath the upper wall of a cartridge cannelure. The cam means is carried by a cap that is screw threadedly engaged with the upper end of the carrier tube adjacent the cannelure. With the cap backed, off somewhat, the cartridge or cartridge components can be removed from the carrier tube by inverting it and shaking it or striking it against a hard surface, the cartridge or components engaging tapered surfaces on the interior of the segments which provide means for expanding the annular segmented support means against the tension of the garter spring.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS For a detailed description ofa preferred embodiment of the invention reference will be made to the accompanying drawings wherein 2 FIG. 1 is an elevation partly in section showing a bullet puller embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the puller;

FIG. 3 is an elevation, partly in section, showing the screwcap of the puller;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section through the annular segmented support means of the puller;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of said annular segmented support means in expanded position;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the annular segmented support means in fully contracted position; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic showing use of the puller with a rimmed cartridge.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings and especially FIG. I, there is shown an inertial bullet puller including a bullet carrier means 10. The carrier means is preferably a generally tubular plastics material member having an opening at its upper end and having a closed lower end 11 providing head means 12 for striking against a hard surface.

A boss 13 on the side of the carrier provides means for making a suitable connection to a, preferably, aluminum steel shaft 14. A fluted plastics material tube 15 forms a handgrip which is suitably secured to the shaft 14. Boss 13, shaft 14, and handgrip 15 together form a handle for the carrier.

The diameter of the inner surface 17 of the carrier tube It) is slightly larger than the largest cartridge expected to be used in the puller. The lower end of the inner surface 18 of the carrier is preferably tapered to provide a surface tangent to the arcuate nose 20 of a bullet 21 so as to slowly frictionally arrest the downward travel of the bullet when it is freed from its case 22.

The bullet 21 and the case 22, which is crimped thereto at 23 and 24, form parts of a cartridge 25. A cannelure or annular groove 26 separates the main cylindrical tubular portion of case 22, which carries the powder charge, from the head 27 of the cartridge, wherein is disposed the detonator cap (not shown).

The upper end of carrier tube 10 is provided with an exter nal helical screw thread 30 correlative to the internal helical screw thread 31 of a generally cylindrical cupshaped screwcap 33. Cap 33 is preferably made of stainless steel. The upper end of cap 33 has a cylindrical opening or bore 34 which is of slightly larger diameter than the cylindrical inner surface 17 of the carrier. The lower surface 35 of the end 36 of the cap is conical, flaring toward the open end of the cap. Preferably the outer periphery of the closed end of the cap is provided with a bevel 38. The exterior surface 39 of the sides of the cap is knurled for easy turning of the cap.

Surmounting the planar upper end 41 of the carrier is annular segmented support means 4l2 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) comprising a plurality of segments l3. Any number of segments greater than one can be used but three is preferred. Each segment is an arcuate shell having inner and outer generally cylin-' drical surfaces 44, 45 and conical inner and near spherical curved outer upper surfaces 47, 48, and a cylindrical inner upper edge 49. When disposed about the cannelure of a cartridge, as shown in FIG. 1, the segments 43 are circumferentially spaced apart, as shown at 50 in FIGS. 4 and 5. Annular elastic means in the form of a helical garter spring 52 lies in the grooves 54, one groove being in each of the outer surfaces 45 of the segments. The elastic means provided by the garter spring resiliently urges the segments inwardly about the cartridge causing their edges 49 to snugly engage the smallest diameter part of the cannelure, as shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cap 33 provides means for positively moving the support means segments radially inwardly and holding them in that position at the end of the carrier tube. When the cap is screwed down the cam surface 35 thereof move the segments 43 inwardly under the upper side 100 of the cannelure so that they fit snugly against the smallest diameter portion of the cannelure. The cap retains the segments in that position on the end of the carrier tube. The device is then ready for use.

In operation, the user grasps the handgrip l5 and swings the puller to give high speed to the carrier tube and strikes the head means at the lower end of the tube against a hard surface, with the carrier tube moving with its axis perpendicular to the surface at the moment of impact. The carrier tube comes to rest and may bounce off of the hard surface. In any event the upper end of the carrier comes to rest slightly later than the lower end as determined by the speed of propagation of the elastic shock wave in the plastic of the carrier tube. The speed of this shock wave will determine the increment of time during which the momentum of the cartridge case is changed from its initial downwardly directed maximum magnitude just prior to impact of the carrier with the hard surface to a zero or upwardly directed magnitude, and this in turn is proportional to the force exerted tending to pull the case and bullet apart. It may be considered that when the shock wave reaches the sup port means the upwardly moving end of the carrier pushes the segment upwardly relative to the cartridge, and the upper ends of the segments bearing against the upper side 100 of the cannelure pull the case from the bullet. The faster the wave moves the faster the upper end of the carrier moves relative to the cartridge case, or otherwise expressed, the more quickly is the case brought to rest. Therefore the carrier is preferably made of a material that transmits elastic waves at a high velocity but has a high impact strength so that it will not shatter. A plastics material sold under the trade name Tennite (Type 239 A22300M) is a suitable material, having an elastic wave velocity of 6,000 ft./sec. Suitable material may be described as being rigid and tough.

After striking the carrier tube head means 12 one or more times against a hand surface, the bullet 21 falls free of the cartridge case into the lower part of the carrier. Preferably the carrier is made of transparent material so that this result can be observed, although the rattling of the loose bullet in the carrier will make this known by sound and shock in any event.

The cap 33 is then loosened, e.g., by turning it a quarter turn, backing it off enough so that the cam surface 35 is spaced axially from the top surfaces 48 of the support segments, far enough so that they can expand to free the cartridge case and allow passage of the bullet. The carrier tube is then inverted and the cartridge case, bullet, and powder are shaken out of the carrier, the support segments expanding under the force of the moving cartridge components when the puller is brought to rest suddenly. In this connection it is to be noted that the inner surfaces 47 of the tops of the support segments are tapered whereby axial force exerted on them by the cartridge components causes them to move outwardly against the slight hoop tension of the garter spring. These tapered surfaces thus provide means for moving the support segments radially outwardly.

When the carrier tube has been emptied, the support segments move together, the garter spring providing resilient means for moving the segments radially inwardly. Preferably, though not necessarily, the garter spring is of such relaxed circumference as to bring the segments into contact with each other, as shown in FIG. 6, when no cartridge is present. Another cartridge can next be inserted into the top of the carrier tube through cap opening 34, the nose of the bullet wedging the support segments apart as it passes therethrough and the segments closing in again around the cannelure. The cap 33 is then tightened and the device is ready for removal of the bullet from the new cartridge.

It will be apparent that the objects of the invention have been realized in the bullet puller embodying the invention. The support means is adaptable to a large range of cannelure diameters and engages the cannelure over a major portion of the circumference thereof. The cap need not be removed between each use of the device and is easily rotated the slight amount needed to tighten and free the annular segmented support means.

Referring now to FIG. 7, there is shown how the annular segmented support means can engage the sides of the case 61 beneath the rim 62 of a rimmed cartridge case 63. The puller is therefore suitable for use with all types of cartridge cases e.g., rimmed, semirimmed, rimless, rebated, and belted. In each case the annular segmented support means is engageable with the sides of the case adjacent theflange at the primer end of the case formed by the rim or the side of the cannelure. Although the support means preferably snugly engages the sides of the case when the cap is screwed down, the important point is that the support means segments lie underneath, i.e., overlap, the flange to transmit force thereto when the puller is used. Although engagement of the segments with the sides of the case is not essential, it is especially desireable in the case of a rimmed case in order to prevent the cartridge from accidentally coming out of the puller through the opening 34 in cap 33. Engagement with the sides of the case sufficient to hold the cartridge independently of the flange without marring the case would be possible however if the segments engage the case over a sufficiently large area or if the case is tapered. In the latter case the inner edges of the segments preferably would be tapered correlative to the cartridge taper and relieved at their upper ends to prevent marring the case. The surfaces of the segments that engage the case are preferably smooth but could be serrated or roughened if it is desired to engage the case more positively.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, many modifications thereof can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A bullet puller comprising a carrier having an opening at its upper end adapted to receive a cartridge and head means at its lower end adapted to be struck against a hard surface,

annular segmented support means adjacent said upper end adapted to engage said cartridge, and

means to move said support means inwardly.

2. Bullet puller according to claim 1 wherein said support means includes a plurality of segments annularly disposed about the upper end of the carrier.

3. Bullet puller according to claim 1 wherein said means to move said support means inwardly is an elastic means resiliently urging said support means radially inwardly.

4. Bullet puller according to claim 3 wherein the elastic means is a helical garter spring extending around said support means in an outer peripheral groove formed thereby.

5. Bullet puller according to claim 2 wherein said annular segmented support means is provided at the inner periphery thereof with tapered surfaces forming means to move the segments outwardly.

6. Bullet puller according to claim 2 wherein said means to move said support means inwardly is a cam means adapted to bear against said segments and move them positively radially inwardly.

7. Bullet puller according to claim 6 wherein said cam means comprises a screwcap engaging a thread means on the upper end of the carrier tube, said cap having a cam surface on its interior adapted to engage said segments.

8. Bullet puller according to claim 6 wherein said cap also provides means for retaining said support means on said carrier.

9. Bullet puller according to claim 6 wherein said means to move said support means inwardly also includes an elastic means resiliently urging said segments radially inwardly.

10. Bullet puller according to claim 9 wherein said support means is provided at the inner periphery thereof with tapered surfaces forming means to move the segments outwardly.

11. Bullet puller according to claim 10 wherein said carrier is a tube closed at its lower end and including handle means extending transversely to the axis of said carrier for facilitating imparting motion to said carrier and striking it against a hard surface, said handle means being provided with a fluted handgrip to facilitate turning the carrier over whereby to shake out cartridge components from the tube.

12. Bullet puller according to claim 11 wherein the handle means includes a metal shaft and said carrier tube is made of rigid, tough plastics material propagating an elastic shock wave speed therein at a speed of the order of 6,000 ftlsec. or greater. 

1. A bullet puller comprising a carrier having an opening at its upper end adapted to receive a cartridge and head means at its lower end adapted to be struck against a hard surface, annular segmented support means adjacent said upper end adapted to engage said cartridge, and means to move said support means inwardly.
 2. Bullet puller according to claim 1 wherein said support means includes a plurality of segments annularly disposed about the upper end of the carrier.
 3. Bullet puller according to claim 1 wherein said means to move said support means inwardly is an elastic means resiliently urging said support means radially inwardly.
 4. Bullet puller according to claim 3 wherein the elastic means is a helical garter spring extending around said support means in an outer peripheral groove formed thereby.
 5. Bullet puller according to claim 2 wherein said annular segmented support means is provided at the inner periphery thereof with tapered surfaces forming means to move the segments outwardly.
 6. Bullet puller according to claim 2 wherein said means to move said support means inwardly is a cam means adapted to bear against said segments and move them positively radially inwardly.
 7. Bullet puller according to claim 6 wherein said cam means comprises a screwcap engaging a thread means on the upper end of the carrier tube, said cap having a cam surface on its interior adapted to engage said segments.
 8. Bullet puller according to claim 6 wherein said cap also provides means for retaining said support means on said carrier.
 9. Bullet puller according to claim 6 wherein said means to move said support means inwardly also includes an elastic means resiliently urging said segments radially inwardly.
 10. Bullet puller according to claim 9 wherein said support means is provided at the inner periphery thereof with tapered surfaces forming means to move the segments outwardly.
 11. Bullet puller according to claim 10 wherein said carrier is a tube closed at its lower end and including handle means extending transversely to the axis of said carrier for facilitating imparting motion to said carrier and striking it against a hard surface, said handle means being provided with a fluted handgrip to facilitate turning the carrier over whereby to shake out cartridge components from the tube.
 12. Bullet puller according to claim 11 wherein the handle means includes a metal shaft and said carrier tube is made of rigid, tough plastics material propagating an elastic shock wave speed therein at a speed of the order of 6,000 ft./sec. or greater. 